


The Ghost of You

by AuraSweet13



Category: R.L Stine's The Haunting Hour (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, For mental references, I hc Connor looks like Mitchell Hope, Spoilers for the episode 'Argh V' if you haven't seen it, Talks about death a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 03:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12004473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuraSweet13/pseuds/AuraSweet13
Summary: Three years after Sam Covington and her parents die in a horrific accident while taking a road trip in their creepy RV, a new family purchases it. The Smythe Family. Their son, Connor, makes a friendship, and possibly something more, with Sam.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is something very strange about the RV Connor's parents purchased.

To put it bluntly, the RV was the creepiest thing he had ever seen. It looked like it hadn't seen a fresh coat of paint in 20 years, at least, not to mention it was extremely dented and beat up.

"Where the hell did you guys find this thing? A scrap yard?" He asked his parents as he came around the side of the vehicle, heading towards the door of the house. "What is this even for, anyway?"

"It's for our summer road trip, Connor!" His mother responded cheerily, her honey-blonde hair perfectly done up, as usual. He shared that trait with her.

Connor blinked, unimpressed. "It's January. Seriously, where did you get this thing? Is it even safe to drive?"

"Of course it is, sport." His father walked over to place a hand on his shoulder. He saw a joy in his father's green eyes-eyes that Connor knew he got from him-that he couldn't remember having seen since he was a kid. But even that was debatable. "We had a mechanic check it out. Besides, it's like you said, it's January. We have plenty of time to get this thing fixed up."

He started to follow his parents towards the house, but not before casting  quick glance in the direction of the RV...

Where he saw a flash of dark green in the window. "Did you guys see tha-" He asked, but as he turned around, he saw his parents were already in the house. Sighing, he walked over to pick up his older brother's aluminum bat-this was what happened when his parents decide to spontaneously clean the garage, they found random shit that hadn't been used in years.

But, in this case, it worked in his favor, especially if there was something in the RV. Swallowing, he walked over, and started up the two stairs into the RV. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. Until he walked a little ways in, and found a girl who looked to be about his age, curled up on the sofa-bed, crying softly.

She was beautiful, to put it frankly. Black hair, dark brown skin. But neither of those things held his attention for very long, when he noticed that she wore a dark green jacket.

Despite the fact that she was very clearly a trespasser, her sobs tugged at his heart. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly.

Her eyes snapped open and she scrambled to sit up. They were a very pretty deep brown color. "Oh, no." She whispered, shaking her head frantically. "Oh, no, no, no." She didn't look away from him. "You cannot be here. You have to get your parents, or whoever found this thing, to get rid of it  _immediately_."

He barely had time to ask why before he heard his mom's voice. "Connor, what are you doing in here?"

He looked over his shoulder. "Nothing, just thought I'd check it out, see what I thought of it, before we take it on our road trip." Why hadn't she mentioned the girl?

"Oh, okay." His mother responded, clearly happy about that. "Well, I'm making supper, so come inside soon, okay?" He nodded. "Oh, by the way, who were you talking to just now?" Glancing forward, he saw that the girl was gone. His heart dropped into his stomach.

"Myself." He told her quickly, smiling at her. "I won't be long, okay? I'll be in soon." She nodded and left the RV. Turning back around, he gasped softly seeing the girl there once more. "How did you...?"

She gave him a sad smile that made him feel like he had been punched, knocking the air from his lungs. "I'd have thought you'd be able to put the pieces together."

He froze, considering everything. Her words, the fact that his mother couldn't see her. The fact that she'd been crying when he'd come in. "Are you dead?" He whispered.

She looked away from him. "Give the boy a prize." There were tears sparkling in her brown eyes when she looked back at him. "This RV is cursed. Every family who takes a trip in it gets into a crash and dies. My family was the second, that I know of, anyway, to suffer this fate."

"Where are they?" He moved over to sit across from her. "Why is it just you here?" She couldn't be much older than he was, if she even  _was_  older than him. Ghost or not, that seemed too young to be here all by herself.

"Hell if I know." She muttered. "They and the first family to suffer this fate took off to 'explore the world'."

"Why didn't you go with them?" Connor asked.

The look she gave him was pointed. "If I knew that, I wouldn't still be here. I think it's because I'm the only one who didn't want anything to do with this RV in the first place, so now I'm the one stuck here." His heart broke for her, for this girl he didn't even know.

This girl who was dead.

Connor swallowed hard, steeling himself. "How...how many others have there been?"

The girl looked back at him steadily. "What year is it?"

"2017." He responded, watching her eyes widen.

"I've been trapped here for three years?" She got out, her voice barely above a whisper and his heart broke for her even more. "I lost count about a month into it."

"How many families have there been since yours?" Connor asked.

"Six." She responded without hesitation. "And I know this, because every time, I've done everything possible to try and convince them to get rid of it, or sell it, or take it to the junkyard. But they never listen. And every time they crash, I relive it, too." She squeezed her eyes shut, a soft sob escaping her. "I didn't even want to go in the first place. But, I didn't trust the RV, so I went to try and protect my parents." A hollow laugh escaped her. "Fat lot of good that did us."

Connor reached out to try and place a comforting hand on her shoulder, only to go straight through her. "Sorry." He apologized immediately. "I'm Connor, by the way."

The girl was looking at him like she didn't know what to make of him. But she wasn't crying any longer, though he could tell she had been. "Sam." She whispered. "Sam Covington."

"All things considered, it's nice to meet you, Sam." Connor said amiably.

He felt a rush of pride when she smiled at him. "You too, Connor."

He opened his mouth to say something else, only to be interrupted by his mother's voice. "Connor Smythe, your food is getting cold!"

"Coming, Mom!" He called, turning back to look at her. "I'm sorry, I have to go." He made a mental promise as he headed towards the door to come visit her again. As he got to the door, he turned to look, and saw her still sitting where she had been before. Heart breaking, he turned and left the RV, closing the door behind himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I decided to write this, because I just recently watched the episode for the first time. And Sam got fucking screwed, and not in the good way. So I decided to fix that. I hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor tries to find out more after meeting with a stranger, and Sam and Connor start to bond.

_No results found._

Connor's brows furrowed and he frowned. That didn't make sense. Sam and her family had died in an accident, so why weren't there any articles about it? Not even an obituary, for that matter. His parents were at work, but he didn't have school for a couple more days, so he was by himself in the house.

The doorbell rang, startling him. Confused and apprehensive, he got up from his chair and headed down stairs to answer it.

There was a guy there, who looked to be about nineteen-ish, if Connor had to guess. Black hair, brown eyes. He was on the taller side. And he looked confused to see Connor. "I didn't realize the house had been sold." He said by way of a greeting.

Connor blinked, recovering quickly. He stuck out his hand. "Hey, I'm Connor." The other guy didn't make a move to shake his hand, just staring him down, so he awkwardly lowered his hand. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, you can tell me what the hell you're doing in my best friend's house." The other guy responded, the hostility in his tone so palpable that Connor flinched instinctively.

"It was for sale and my parents bought it." Connor responded. "I didn't really have a choice in the matter. Who's your best friend?"

"Her name is" Something that looked like anguish passed over his face. "Sam Covington."

Connor felt like he had been dunked in an ice bath, but he managed to keep a straight face. "No, our realtors didn't tell us anything about the previous tenants, except that they disappeared without a word to anyone."

The stranger's eyes darkened slightly, whether in anger, or grief, he didn't know. "I was the last person to see her, Sam." He admitted. "We were...well, what we were doing wasn't important. The point is, it was dark, we were both freaked out, her more so than me though, and I brushed her off. And then the next day, when I came by the house, her and her parents were gone. "

"I'm so sorry, man." Connor said. "I can't imagine what that must be like for you."

"And no one thought anything of it, they just brushed it off as the Covingtons taking a vacation. Never mind that anyone who knows her knows Sam would never take a vacation so close to exams." The guy continued speaking. He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm rambling. Welcome to the neighbourhood, I guess."

"Wait!" Connor blurted. "If you want to keep talking about her, you can. I mean, I was curious about the previous tenants, but our realtor wouldn't tell us anything about them."

"Maybe another time." The guy responded, then turned and headed down the stairs. Connor started to close the door, but then the guy spoke again. "Hey, new guy. Your RV caught my attention. It looks just like hers did." He said, and then he was off walking down the street. Connor closed the door, then turned and bounded up the stairs two at a time to turn off his computer. Maybe Sam could tell him about that guy.

 

Sam paced around the RV, considering she couldn't leave it.

Tully had come by. He had been here. He had walked right past the RV, the same RV he tried to help her dispose of the night before she'd gone with her parents. She knew no one could hear or see her when they were outside of the RV, but that hadn't stopped her from banging on the windows and screaming his name at the top of her lungs. Once she had screamed herself hoarse, the floodgates opened, again, which had led to her kneeling on the dirty, grimy floor of the RV, sobbing her heart out.

That had been a few minutes ago. Now she was pacing, though her face felt sticky where the tears had dried. The sound of the door opening snapped her to attention, and she whirled to see Connor entering the RV. "Hey, Sam." He smiled, but it didn't last long once he saw her face. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Sam shook her head, moving over to sit down on the sofa-bed. Her sofa-bed. "No, I'm not okay." She murmured. "I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to Tully before my parents and I left. I thought he'd forgotten about me."

"Believe me, he didn't." Connor responded wholeheartedly.

"You're remarkably calm about the fact that there's a teenage ghost girl living in your RV, you know." Sam said, looking at him. "Your possessed slash cursed RV, that will probably kill both you and your parents when you take it on a trip."

"Well, I mean, you're cute, so how can I not be calm?" Connor asked, smiling at her in a way that made her heart jump in her chest, something she hadn't thought was possible since she was, you know, dead. Her cheeks burned.

"Okay, well, that still doesn't explain why you're not panicking over the RV." She said once she could form the words to speak again.

"Well, a lot can happen between now and the summer. Who knows. Maybe my parents will get so busy with work that they'll forget all about it." Connor said, and his optimism made her smile weakly.

"I don't even remember dying." Sam admitted softly. So softly, she was worried she hadn't actually spoken the words. "Like, isn't death supposed to hurt? Especially if you get into a crash? I  _don't understand_  how I didn't realize it the second it happened." She shook her head. "Sorry, I shouldn't be bogging you down with all of this. You're probably going to have to start getting ready for school soon, aren't you?"

"Not for a couple of days yet." Connor told her. He didn't want her to feel bad for talking about what she'd been through. Especially since, if his assumption was correct, she hadn't talked to anyone about it since it had happened. Three years ago.

Sam nodded. "I think that's one of the things I miss most. School." She admitted quietly. "I know how strange that must sound, but I actually liked school. I was one of the smartest students in my entire school, but that was only because I studied so much. I honestly did a Trig test a couple days before my parents and I went on that trip." Her fingers twisted into the blanket on the sofa-bed. "I'll never go to college now. I'll never get away from my parents..." She shook her head. "Like, there's something wrong when their sixteen year old daughter is more responsible than both of them combined. The only reason we even got into the crash in the first place, is because my dad took his eyes off the road." She was so sick of crying, but her eyes stung anyway.

"Well, if you want to, I'd be happy to have you help me with my school work." Connor offered. "I mean, we're both sixteen. Well, technically, you're nineteen now." He corrected.

Sam shook her head. "Because I'm a ghost, I'm stuck at the age I died at. Which means, I'm eternally sixteen. But, I'd be happy to help you out, if you want me to."

In truth, he didn't think he'd need much help. But, seeing the way she lit up when she talked about school made him want to give her what she could no longer have, in any way he could. If that meant letting her help him with his homework, so be it.

Besides, what teenage boy didn't like the idea of an incredibly attractive girl helping them with their homework?

"I definitely want you to." He said, not even trying to hide his eagerness. And when she shot him a bright, brilliant smile, he didn't regret it for a second.

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Sam said, still grinning. And Connor couldn't help thinking that this seemed like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While bonding over Trigonometry, Connor meets Sam's parents. It doesn't go well.

Connor carried his schoolbag into the RV. He had been in school for a few days now, and as it turned out, he found that he was struggling a little.

There she was, already waiting for him, with a friendly smile. "So, how was school today?" She asked.

In response, he threw himself down onto the sofa-bed, buried his face in the sheets and heaved a long sigh.

Her giggle was music to his ears. "That bad, huh?"

"Um-hum." He said, but it was muffled.

"Okay." She said, and settled down onto the sofa-bed beside him. But it didn't change with her weight. Then again, why would it? "What do you need?"

He reached into his bag and pulled out a Trigonometry textbook. The sight of it felt like he had just dumped water on her unceremoniously. "I've never been very good at math, admittedly." He opened the book, and she looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, that's easy." She said, and immediately launched into an explanation of what to do and how to complete it.

Connor tried to focus on what she was saying, really he did, and for the most part he was able to, but occasionally, his gaze wandered from the pages of the textbook to her face. She looked so peaceful like this. Happy, genuinely happier than he'd seen her be for more than a second or two since they first met.

What he  _hadn't_  been expecting was for her to look over at him while he was mentally memorizing every detail of her face. And by now, it was far too late to look away, to pretend like he hadn't been doing that.

And then, she started to lean in, and he swore it felt like his heart stopped for a second. He started to lean in, too.

But the moment their lips were supposed to touch, she went right through him.

"I figured that would happen." Sam whispered, her tone desolate. "But I just had to try." She looked at him. "I've never had a first kiss."  _And now I never will._ She thought dully.

"I'm sorry." Connor murmured. "Seriously, Sam. I am so sorry this happened to you."

Sam shook her head. "It's not your fault, you weren't the one driving the vehicle that killed me. You didn't take your eyes off the road to tease me."

He opened his mouth to say something, anything to make her feel better, but before he could, the door opened, startling him a little. Connor looked over his shoulder, expecting to see his mom or dad.

Instead he saw two unfamiliar figures that bore a startling resemblance to Sam, a man and a woman. He could practically  _feel_  Sam's body sag with their arrival. The man wore a giant straw hat and a brightly coloured t-shirt, with a camera around his neck, while the woman had a pair of huge sunglasses, and a large rainbow lei around her neck.

"Hey there, Sam sweetheart." The man said, walking over to kiss her forehead. Connor watched her tense up, like she was resisting the urge to shrink away. But then he remembered what she'd told him the other day.

_The only reason we even got into the crash in the first place, is because my dad took his eyes off the road._

"Hi, Dad." She said curtly, her voice strained. Thick with tension.

They didn't seem to even notice Connor at all, but that was fine by him. It allowed him to bear witness to what her parents were like. Her mother pulled her into a hug that looked very uncomfortable, very tight, and Sam looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. "How is our beautiful daughter?"

"Fine." Sam's voice was still thick with irritation, but neither of her parents seemed to notice. "Where are the Applebaums?"

"Oh, they're still in Florida." Her father said. "They said they'd come back when they were ready. You know, you should really come with us sometime, sweetheart, you'd like it."

That seemed to be the last straw. Sam ripped herself away from her mother's embrace and stood up. "I would  _love to_ , Dad, except I  **can't.** This fucking RV won't let me leave! You know that, I told you that on the first day!" Tears were sliding down her cheeks. "You two never listen to me! If you had just listened to me the day you bought the RV and gotten rid of it,  _we'd still be alive_! But you two probably don't even care, do you? This is all one big adventure to you, isn't it?" Her parents seemed frozen in shock, which Sam took as her cue to continue talking. "Well, I'm sixteen fucking years old. I should have had the chance to go on dates, to go to Homecoming, to go to college. But because of your need to be spontaneous and play it by air, I'm sixteen years old, dead and stuck in an RV, watching it take life after life of the families who buy it!"

"So, honey, what's the new family who bought the RV like?" Her dad asked, completely ignoring her.

Connor was incensed. He took one look at Sam, at the hopeless and devastated look on her face as she sank back to the sofa-bed, and then made a decision, standing up. "Hi, I'm Connor." He said flatly, angrily. "My parents bought this RV."

Both of them turned to look at him. In the blink of an eye, he saw them for how they were supposed to look. Rotten, decaying corpses. But Sam still looked the same. "Well hello there, son." Her father said. "What do you think of her, do you like her? She's a beauty, isn't she?"

Connor wasn't sure if he was talking about the RV or Sam. Because really, out of those two things, he only agreed on one of them. And it wasn't the vehicle. "Yeah, she is." He responded without thinking twice, looking right at Sam as he did so. The shy smile she gave him was worth it.

Her father went on to continue talking about how nice the RV was, how much he loved it, but Connor didn't take his eyes off Sam. And she didn't take her eyes off him, either. "Okay, well, we're leaving again, honey." Her mother said as they walked to the door.

"We hope you enjoy your time with the RV." Her father spoke right to Connor and he nodded, though he could still see them as zombies. And then they were gone.

"So, those were my parents." Sam said. "Real pieces of work, aren't they?"

"Yeah, no kidding." Connor agreed, moving over to cautiously sit beside her on the sofa-bed. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No, but that's nothing new. I haven't been okay since this RV came into my life."

"Sam, I promise you, right now, I will find a way to destroy this RV and set you free." Connor didn't know where that promise had come from, but he wasn't sorry he'd said it. "I don't know how, but I will."

"Thank you, Connor." Sam whispered.

All he wanted to do was take away all the pain and agony that she had been through, but he didn't know how.

But he wouldn't stop until he had done just that. Or died trying.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Tully talk more, and Sam learns she can do something she didn't know she could.

Connor had been at his computer all day since he got home from school, completely neglecting his homework. 'Phantom vehicles' was currently in his Google Search bar. Though he wasn't sure that was what it was, he figured it was a decent enough place to start. He'd made a promise to Sam, and he couldn't break it. She didn't deserve to be trapped in the thing that killed her.

And then he had an idea.

Her best friend. Tully.

He'd recognized the RV. If Connor could get him to open up, maybe that would help him figure out what to do. Getting up, he shut his computer and left the house to go talk to him.

 

"Oh, hey, new guy. Connor, right?" Tully asked when he opened the door.

Connor nodded. "Yeah. Look, I need you to tell me everything you know about the RV. The one you said looks identical to the one your friend had."

"Honestly, I don't know much about it." Tully admitted. "I just know that it looked like yours, and that she was really freaked out by it."

"Freaked out how?" Connor asked.

"Freaked out as in she kept hearing things in it. When I had the radio on, even though it was just static, she yelled for me to turn it off. And then she claimed she saw lights and a vehicle coming towards it, that it was going to crash even though we weren't moving."

Connor felt like he was going to be sick.

"Why are you so curious about this?" Tully asked, snapping him back to the present.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Connor responded.

But Tully didn't look away from him. "Come on, man, try me."

Connor stood up. "How about I show you, instead?"

 

Connor stepped into the RV, Tully right behind him. "God, this place still looks exactly the same." He herd Tully say behind him.

He turned to face Tully. "You want to know why I've been so curious about her, about this RV?" He asked, and Tully nodded. "It's because I've met her. She's stuck here, in the RV."

Tully shook his head. "No, that isn't possible."

"Sam, do you want to show him you're here?" Connor asked, looking at her. She nodded and walked over to pick up his trig book from the counter. But her hands went through it. He watched her eyes narrow, watched her close them, like she was focusing. She tried again, and this time she managed to pick it up. She opened it and managed to flip a couple of the pages.

"Sammy?" Tully whispered. Connor's gaze didn't leave her as she walked over to Tully, book in hand, and hold it out to him. He accepted the book from her with shaking fingers. Connor watched her close her eyes again, then reached out and place her hand on Tully's wrist. He gasped but didn't pull away. Tully turned his gaze to Connor. "Can you see her?" He asked, and when Connor nodded, Tully asked "What's she doing right now?"

"She's crying." Connor told him. "She thought you'd forgotten her."

Tully shook his head, looking straight ahead. Though he couldn't see her, Connor could, and currently his eyes were locked with hers. "Never, Sammy. I could never forget you." He said earnestly. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. If I had, maybe you'd still be alive."

Sam shook her head. "Tully, please don't blame yourself. You don't know that for sure. Even if you did believe me, my parents still probably would've gone on their trip, and I would still have gone to protect them. I don't blame you. There is nothing you could've done to change what happened to me." Connor relayed this information back to him.

"Do you see why I need your help now?" Connor asked, turning his attention to Tully. "You know her, you know this situation, better than I do. I need your help, because I want to free her from this RV. She doesn't deserve to be trapped here."

"No, she doesn't." Tully agreed. "Okay. I'll help you. Both of you."

 

Connor's bag was heavier than usual. He didn't understand why teachers gave so much homework over the weekend. It was the weekend for a reason. And it didn't help that the zipper to the main portion of the bag was broken, so doing it up had been a workout in and of itself. He was heading up the driveway, when he heard a ripping sound and felt his bag get significantly lighter, heard the contents fall to the concrete.

A heavy sigh escaped him as he turned around to find everything that had previously been in the bag strewn about like a crime scene. "You have to be kidding." He muttered, and then knelt down to start putting everything in the corpse of his once trusty backpack. Hopefully he could hold it together until he got into the house. If it had been one or two things, or even his textbooks, that would've been fine. But, no, it seemed as though the entire contents of his bag had been spit out.

Connor muttered to himself as he cleaned up, completely unaware of the RV sliding towards him, as if being driven in that direction, even though no one was behind the wheel.

 

The RV was moving.

It hadn't done this in such a long time. Well, three years, in fact. Sam had a brief flashback to when it almost crushed her beneath it. Although, this time, instead of her being the one in the line of fire, as it were, it was Connor.  
  
"No." She whispered in an angry tone. For the vehicle only. "No, no, no, don't you dare."

Sam watched as the driveway started slipping past the windows. Balling her hands into biting fists, she concentrated like she had when she’d been able to lift Connor’s Trig book. The second she felt the table against her hip  and her nails in her palm, she stormed over to the controls to try and stop it; yanking the emergency brake, frantically turning the steering wheel, crushing the pedals into the floor. Nothing worked. She'd learned very early on, very quickly, that this thing had a mind of its own. 

In the worst way.

This couldn't happen. He was the first human contact she'd had in three years. At least the first that actually cared about her. But what could she do? How could she stop it?

Lifting her hands, Sam started pounding on the windshield, screaming his name. She needed to get his attention, make him look up in time to get out of the way, or duck underneath like she had when this happened to her. The horn was no use when she slammed the wheel. She gave the windshield another punch.

Before she knew it, she was staggering in front of the RV, stumbling slightly from the force of her punch. As if on instinct, she spun around, the RV now rolling toward  _her._ Standing tall, in front of the still oblivious Connor, she blocked the RV from getting to him.

 _If you want to get to him, you have to go through me._  She thought.

It kept moving, but she stayed planted like a tree. She took a deep breath, memories of the crash flashing in her mind as the RV growled and chugged. The headlights flashed in warning, but it didn’t stop. It made contact with her body, though for obvious reasons she felt no pain, and then halted.

"Sam?" She looked over her shoulder at Connor, who was staring at her wide-eyed. "Did you just...stop the RV?"

"I think so." She responded, laughing a little. "I'm not sure how, but I did it."

"Sam." Connor said again, and she was only a little surprised by how much she liked the sound of her name on his lips. "Look where you are."

"So, what's the big deal? I'm just standing in my old driveway." Sam responded. A moment of silence went by as they both registered what she had just said, and she felt her eyes widen, a smile curling her lips. "Oh, my God!" She looked over her shoulder at him. "I haven't been able to leave the RV for three years." Sam murmured. "Since the crash. And believe me, I've definitely tried."

"Well, I'm glad you were able to. Otherwise my parents might have come home to find their youngest flattened under a sentient RV." Connor beamed at her. "You saved my life, Sam."

More than anything, she wanted to hug him in that moment. And that terrified her. "You'd do the same if our roles were reversed." She said, though her words were more wistful thinking than actual fact.

"In a heartbeat." The sincerity in his tone made her want to melt, which was also a new feeling for her. "Come on, let's get inside before it decides it wants to try again."

Sam nodded. "That's a good idea." She agreed, and the pair of them walked into the RV side by side.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor tries to help Sam figure out how to control her abilities as a ghost.

"Thanks for offering to help me figure this out." Sam said as they stood in the RV, facing each other in the tight space.

"Of course." Connor smiled, "I mean, it's better than doing my English homework."

Her giggle warmed his heart. "You have to do your homework eventually, Connor. I refuse to be your enabler."

"I know, I know." He said. "And I will, once I help you figure this out. Okay, so, you were able to get from the RV to the driveway, right? And it used to be your family's driveway?" Connor asked. He was silent for a moment, habitually tapping his chin. "Okay, so, maybe you can only apparate to where the RV has been. So, when your family had it, where did it go?"

"Not very far. Just here in the driveway...the road we died on," Her voice caught in her throat at that. It was her turn to be silent, hands sliding up and down her arms as if the mention of her death made her cold. Connor sighed quietly, wanting to hug her, or just touch her shoulder, to reassure her. But he knew he couldn’t, he’d just fall right through her.

Suddenly her eyes lit up, her hands flinging into the air as if she were trying to grab something, "And the junkyard!"

“Junkyard?” Connor asked, startled.

Sam nodded, “Yeah, the place where Tully and I tried to get rid of it.”

"Let's go to the junkyard then." Connor suggested. He figured she probably wouldn't want to go to the road herself and her parents died on, and the junkyard might be a bit quieter with a lesser possibility for running into strangers.

Sam looked at him, confusion shining in her beautiful eyes. Her face scrunched as she repeated, "’Let's’? Connor, I don't even know if I can get  _myself_  there, let alone you too."

"Well, you'll never know if you don't try, right?" Connor flashed a grin, trying to boost her confidence any way he could.

She nodded, a slight smile forming on her lips, and then her eyes slid shut. They were both still for several heartbeats, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

One hand shot out suddenly, and on instinct Connor held out his own to make it easier for her to grasp. Her skin was cold, which was to be expected he supposed, but solid in his. His heart did flips in his chest at the sensation, warmth shooting through his body.

"Sam, you're holding my hand." He whispered, a smile plastered over his reddening face.

She didn't open her eyes, but he saw a smile curve her lips and felt her fingers tighten between his.

Connor blinked, and then they were in a different place. It was much colder as they were outside, and the sudden stench of rusting metal and rot smacked him hard in the nose.

"Is this it?" He asked, his head spinning a little from the jump.

Sam opened her eyes to look around, and suddenly his hand flopped back to his side. Connor frowned at the loss of sensation, a noticeable sagging feeling replacing the heat in his chest.

"Yeah, this is it.” Sam said, turning around slowly in place, “The place where I tried to get rid of it, only to have it come back and end up in the driveway again." She walked a little ways off, and Connor scrambled to catch up with her. "This place hasn't changed at all, except there are more vehicles here now than there were three years ago." She mused, though he got the feeling she was talking more to herself than she was to him.

She seemed slow, almost lethargic. "Sam, are you okay?" Connor asked, his tone almost reluctant.

Even the way she turned her head to look at him was slowed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think." She said, her words halting.

She clearly  _wasn't_ fine, but Connor wasn't sure how to bring it up to her. "Do you want to go back?" He asked, his tone soft.

"Back to that prison? No way. Not yet." Sam's voice was still strange, but the lack of hesitation in her voice made him think that she was okay now.

The pair of them walked in silence for a few more moments and, though it was broad daylight, it felt eerie, like it was late at night. He shivered a little. "Sam, seriously, I think we should go back..." He turned to look at her, and stopped dead in his tracks.

She was still beautiful, she still looked pretty good despite being dead for three years. But she definitely  _looked_ dead now, when she hadn't a few moments ago. Her eyes were sunken and glassy, there were incredibly dark shadows under her eyes. She turned to look at him. "Come with me. Take a trip with me, Connor." Her voice was monotone, but it held a note of sweetness. Her hand extended towards him.

To say Connor had no idea what the hell was going on would be an understatement. "Sam, come on, snap out of it." There was a note of desperation to his tone. He tried to reach for her but, as expected, his hand went right through hers.

That seemed to be enough, though, because as quickly as he blinked, that was how quickly she was back to how he knew her to look. And she had a horrified expression on her face as she looked at him. "Connor..." She whispered. "I just turned into the Applebaum children, didn't I?" He had no idea what that meant, so he just continued to stare at her, almost overwhelmed by relief that she was back to herself. "When I was still alive, they were the ones talking to me, telling me to 'take a trip' and 'come with them'. Did I just do that to you? Answer me honestly."

He nodded mutely. Because really, what was there to say to that?

"I'm so sorry." Sam whispered, seeming to shrink away from him. "I didn't...I would never...I'm so sorry." She shook her head. And then, before he could reach out to reassure her that it was okay, that she hadn't hurt him, she was gone. No warning, no goodbye.

Just...gone.

Leaving him alone in the junkyard.

Well, he supposed he should get walking. Especially since he didn't know the way home.

 

To say his parents were angry at him when he got home would be an understatement. Well, they weren't angry, so much as worried about where he had been. He explained the situation without explaining that he was helping a ghost girl test out her limits: That he had been exploring the neighborhood and gotten turned around, so coming home had taken longer.

"Go straight to bed, young man." His mother said, pointing to the stairs. He obeyed her, though he wanted to go check on Sam.

Even if he could do so without his parents being suspicious about why he was going to the RV at night, he got the feeling that Sam wouldn't be there anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam's gone for a few days, and both of them suffer from being apart.

Sam hadn't gone back to the RV in several days, except for late at night when she knew Connor wouldn't be there. He was a human, he needed to sleep. She was a ghost, she did not. How could she go back there, how could she face him, when she had become exactly what she had tried so hard not to the past three years? But, more than that, she also needed to practice her abilities, to get them under control. Even if she couldn't go to Florida with her parents, not that she particularly wanted to, it was immensely refreshing to know that she could leave the RV if she focused hard enough.

If only her body felt the same way.

But no, instead of enjoying the freedom, her body complained whenever she was away for too long.

Her stomach churned, similarly to how it used to whenever she ever attempted to eat whatever concoction Tully whipped up, that he had the audacity to call food.

So, reluctantly, she focused, and apparated/teleported back into the RV. But it wasn't empty, like she had been expecting it to be.

Instead, Connor was there with a laptop, settled on her usual spot.

Their usual spot.

He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He looked up, and the smile on his face broke her heart and made her regret staying away for so long. "Hey, there you are." His tone was soft. "I was worried you wouldn't come. I thought we could watch a movie, if that's okay with you."

Sam nodded and moved over to settle down beside him. "Sure, I'd like that." It had been so long since she'd watched a movie.

"Ready?" He asked, pressing play when she nodded. If she were alive, this would probably be the point when she laid her head on his shoulder. But that wasn't an option. Sure, if she focused it would be, but then she'd be too focused on not falling through him to enjoy the movie. So she just pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them there with her arms, resting her chin on them. The movie was a romantic comedy she didn't recognize, so it was probably from one of the years she had been dead.

But, it did mean that she couldn't use the contents of the movie as a cover up for why she was quietly crying. All she could really do was hope he didn't notice.

"Sam, are you crying?" Connor asked, pausing the movie.

Sam tried to bury her face in her knees. "Yes, but it's nothing, don't worry." She was always crying over something or another, it just never happened to be while he was around.

"But, I am worried." Connor spoke softly, reaching out to place his hand on her knee. Though he went right through her, he wasn't sorry he'd done it. At least until she started crying even harder immediately after the fact.

"That's why I'm crying, Connor!" She got out in between her tears. "Because I'm dead and you're not, and yet you continually come in here and hang out with me, even though I'm never going to be able to touch you whenever we want, or kiss you whenever we want. I can't even rest my head on your shoulder during a movie without needing to use all my focus for it." She looked up at him, her eyes shiny with tears. "You deserve so much more, because you're a really, really great guy."

Connor shook his head. "But don't you see, Sam? You  _are_  more. For me, at least." He didn't look away from her. "You're smart, and funny, and you cared enough about your parents to get into an RV you had a bad feeling about from the beginning, just to try and protect them. I've been around for sixteen years, and I've yet to meet anyone who has that level of loyalty, for anyone or anything." He looked like he wanted to take her hand, but he didn't. "Ghost or not, I don't care. You're more real than most people who are alive nowadays."

Sam felt like she couldn't breathe. But, in a good way "Connor, can I...can I try something?" She asked shyly.

He nodded. "Yeah, absolutely. Please." Swallowing hard, she straightened out, then shifted on the sofa-bed so she was sitting up, facing him. She ventured closer to him, focusing with all her might. She was briefly aware that the sofa was solid under her, but she was only focused on getting to him.

On making this work somehow.

Reaching out, she placed her hands on his cheeks, leaning in until their lips were touching. Actually, genuinely touching.

It was the best feeling she'd had in a long, long time.

At least, until she felt his hand come up to rest on the middle of her back.

Unfortunately, it felt _so_ good that it ended up breaking her concentration, causing her to sink through the sofa-bed to the floor of the RV.

Sam opened her eyes with a mildly irritated huff to find Connor looking down at her from the sofa-bed. "Are you okay?" He asked.

His innocent question, coupled with what they had just done, the sensations she'd felt for the first time in her life, caused a smile to bloom on her face, which gave way to giggles as she nodded. "That was my first kiss." She admitted.

"Mine too." His admission just made the whole situation feel even more special.

"Connor?" He startled a little as his mother poked her head in. "Why are you so fascinated with the RV all of a sudden?" She asked, looking at him curiously. "When we bought it, you thought we got it from a scrap yard."

"You're right, I thought that." Connor responded, looking at his mom, but keeping an eye on Sam from his peripheral vision. She still lay on the floor where she'd fallen after their kiss, looking as dazed and happy as he felt. "But, now it's kind of retro. And I find that doing my homework in here is easier than doing it in the house." It wasn't a total lie.

His mother smiled. "Oh, I'm so glad it's growing on you." She said warmly. "Well, I'll leave you two alone, then." And with that, she went back down the stairs and closed the door behind her.

Connor looked back at Sam, and then he had an idea. He climbed off the sofa-bed and laid down next to her on the floor. "Hello, again." He said.

Sam laughed again. "You're such a dork." Then, focusing, she leaned in and gave him another brief kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor gets an interesting assignment, which leads him to a discovery.

"Okay, class." Connor's Trig teacher, Mr. Ellis, said. "Today, we're going to take a break from Trigonometry and do something else." A cheer went up through the class, and Connor looked at the first friend he'd made since they moved here, besides Sam, Trevor. Trevor threw his fist up in the air in triumph, and Connor smiled, shaking his head playfully. "I want you guys to try to find the Trig midterms and scores for the past five years, see how everyone who came here before you did. Who knows, maybe some of their explanations will help you with yours when you do them." Seeing that no one had any questions, he waved his hand towards the door. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go see what you can find."

Connor got up and headed out of the room with Trevor right on his heels.

 

The file room was much larger than he had been expecting. But, since it was organized chronologically, finding the academic records of the students from the past five years had been relatively easy. He was leaning against the table, leafing through to see the names.

And then, one caught his eyes.

_Covington, S; 2014._

He forgot about all the others as he reached for her file and carefully pulled it out of the box it was in. It probably hadn't been touched since she died. It felt wrong to open it without her here.

So he didn't.

Instead, he carefully slipped it into his bag and then closed the box, putting it back where he'd found it.

 

His parents were still at work when he got home, so he headed to the RV with his new backpack on his shoulders. Connor's thoughts whirled as he wondered how Sam would react to see her file. And he couldn't help wondering what was in it.

Opening the door, he stepped into the RV, stopping where he was.

Sam was asleep sitting up, and there was an unfamiliar kid on either side of her; a little boy on the left, and a little girl on the right. At least, he assumed they were asleep. But, they looked dead, unmoving. It was chilling.

Connor dropped the bag in his shock, and as it made contact with the floor, Sam's eyes snapped open. She smiled when she saw him, and he returned it. "Hey, Connor, how was school?" She asked, but her voice was a whisper. Probably so she didn't wake the kids. Her arms were around them, and they seemed to be cuddled into her sides. "These are Myron and Jenny Applebaum, by the way."

Connor smiled gently. They seemed comfortable with her. Not that he could blame them, at all. He knelt to better reach his bag, opening it. "So, I found something today, when I was doing an assignment for class." He said, pulling it out and showing it to her. Showing her the name on the cover of the file.

He watched her eyes widen. "Are those my school records?" Sam asked softly.

Connor nodded. "Want to look through them?" He asked.

"Is my Trig test in there?" She met his eyes.

"I don't know, I haven't looked." Connor's tone was earnest. "I thought we could do that together."

Sam gave him a radiant smile that warmed his heart as she shifted carefully away Myron and Jenny, somehow managing not to wake them. "I'd like that." She murmured as she moved to sit beside him on the floor. Once they were both situated, he opened the file and they started reading through it together. Connor wasn't surprised as he read through her stellar marks, the generous remarks from her teachers complimenting her work ethic and the quality of the assignments she turned in. "My parents were always very free spirited." She admitted softly as they looked through the reports. "I mean, it's not like they ever went across the country or anything, but they would often stay out late, and go out early on the weekends on all kinds of spontaneous adventures. So I had to learn how to take care of myself pretty early on if I wanted to survive."

She closed her eyes. "I threw everything I had into my schoolwork, so I could get away as soon as possible, preferably to a college out of state." Connor watched her eyes dim, her body sag, as her tone got more sad and wistful. "And yet, in the end, it was my loyalty to my parents that got me killed. Never mind the fact that they almost certainly wouldn't do the same for me if our roles were reversed. In fact, if I told them I wanted to go on a spontaneous road trip with no destination in mind, right this second, they'd probably say 'Have fun, honey! We love you!' " She did a near spot on impression of her mother, and then rolled her eyes. "I just don't understand. The  _one time_  I needed them to take our situation seriously, they goofed around and caused us to crash."

Connor was prepared for her to rant, so when she trailed off, he glanced down at the folder, where her gaze was fixated on a decently sized stapled packet of paper. 'Trigonometry Test' the title read. Her name was scrawled in delicate cursive in the corner, and in the other corner, was a percentage along with a comment.

_100%_

_Stellar work as usual, Miss Covington._

Connor glanced at her face. Sam was staring at the test like she couldn't quite believe it. But then, a bright smile came to her lips and she bounced up and down a little. "Connor!" She squealed, but then closed her mouth and glanced over her shoulder to see if she had woken up Myron and Jenny. But they were still asleep, thankfully. Sam sighed in relief, and then shifted to look at Connor. "I passed!" She whispered ecstatically.

"You didn't just pass." Connor added, pointing at the percentage. "You passed with flying colors." He wanted to hug her. To pick her up and spin her around. Her sheer elation was both adorable and contagious.

Sam couldn't seem to keep still. This was all she had ever wanted that week her parents bought the RV. To do well on the Trig test she had studied so hard for. And Connor was sitting beside her, looking just as happy as she felt. She knew if she didn't do something to calm herself down, she'd end up waking Myron and Jenny. So she focused, again, and again reached out to cup his cheeks. "Can I kiss you?" She asked him, her tone soft.

Connor nodded, eyes wide, the pupils slightly blown. "Please." His tone matched hers.

Smiling, she leaned in and kissed him with slightly less hesitation than the first time. As he responded, she deepened it the slightest bit, just to see how it felt.

"Sam and Connor, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Two younger voices chorused together, causing Sam to pull away in shock as she glanced in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, there were Myron and Jenny, smiling playfully as they teased them.

Her cheeks burned, but she couldn't stop smiling. "Cut that out, you two." She scolded playfully, causing all three of them to burst into laughter.

Connor watched the exchange, his heart simultaneously breaking and melting. As he did so, he came to a realization.

By destroying the RV, it wouldn't just help Sam, but the seven other families affected by what it had done to them. Now more than ever, he had to destroy the RV.


End file.
